Above is a just a quick illustration of how some of the 14 parties as part of the ASMFC Management Board voted this past week on one issue regarding Addendum III to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for striped bass. That's a lot in one sentence.
Trust me, I can't come up with this stuff alone and look to the insight and work done by Charles Witek, who pens the One Anglers Voice blog, HERE, Jim Hutchinson of The Fisherman magazine, and additional press releases and published articles. While I do my due diligence in attending the virtual meetings and offering public comments it's daunting to figure out and know, correctly, how this all runs and what it's all about. But when I'm twisted up I look around to those that have a better understanding of it all, even if I don't always agree with the positions I read.
What I do know, or believe, is that fisheries management comes down to money and politics. This isn't PETA holding bare-your-breasts (for men and women) sit-ins for the betterment of the striped bass. Behind our favorite fish are shareholders, like commercial and recreational interests, as well as industry sectors- like tackle shops, tourism, and the like, which all want a part of the cash that goes with pursuing, and either killing and eating, or catching and releasing, striped bass.
The ASMFC Board consists of voting interests from 16 "parties". There's the 12 states along the East Coast, one district, that's the District of Columbia, the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, and two federal agencies in NOAA and the US Fish & Wildlife Service. So that's 16 all together.
Each "interest" puts forth three representatives to make 40 commissioners with the exception of DC, the PRFC, NOAA, and USFWS, which each have one. The three are broken down by 1) The head of the state's marine fisheries department, 2) A member of the state legislature, and 3) A governor's appointee who has "knowledge and interest in the fishery"- per the ASMFC website.
So New Jersey, who I think is the the devil reincarnated in regards to striped bass management, brings forth the following to the ASMFC Board. They are,
1) Joseph Cimino, ASMFC Chair, from the NJ DEP
2) Jeff Kaelin, from the LUND Fisheries (Commercial)
3) Senator Vin Goal
There are two "ongoing proxies", Heather Corbett, of the NJ DEP, and Adam Nowalsky, a former head boat Captain out of Atlantic County, former ASMFC commissioner, and current member of the NJ Marine Fisheries Council representing Atlantic County.
So first what is a "Ongoing proxy". Well, there's two types of proxies. According to the ASMFC the "Ongoing proxy serves in the Commissioners stead whenever the Commissioner is not in attendance and will represent the Commissioner at any/or all board meetings unless there is a named proxy for a specific board". Now there's also a "Permanent Proxy" which ...replaces the Commissioner in all aspects and appears on all lists as the Commissioner-in-fact".
Hey I get it. There's a meeting, you wife is about to deliver your first child, and you need a fill-in. That way the world doesn't get held up by you not casting your vote. But to have someone jump-in all the time? C'mon man. Please. Are we that dumb out here?
I always wondered about all of this because I could never understand while Adam Nowalsky is always around and throws a monkey wrench in anything good for the striped bass. So basically he IS Senator Vin Gopal when it comes to the ASMFC Board, but remember just "on-going".
Senator Vin Gopal must be really into fishing and striped bass to be on the Board. It's open to any member of the state legislature and I am sure among them here in New Jersey there's a die hard angler amongst them. I Googled "Vin Gopal and fishing or striped bass" and got a fishy related Bill that he co-sponsored. It was back in 2022. That bill looked to make the first
full week of June, "New Jersey Fishing and Boating Week". Impressive. Looking into some of the Whereas's, you can read all that is good about New Jersey and fishing,
Now, let me be clear. Yes, fishing and kids and families are just nice. I loved fishing with my kids when they were little, but they never took the bait. When I'm into the zone and doing my thing the last thing I want to see is some parents introducing their kids to the sport. Sounds horrible, yes. Introduce them to the sport in July. At times seeing kids fishing is like hearing them at a fancy restaurant when you're trying to celebrate something or do some adulting after a hard day. And when you drag them down to catch a blitz and then pimp them out on social media, well, I just can't.
The best is "Fishing and boating are also believed to many to be significant stress-relieving activities", well, for me, when it comes to fly fishing for striped bass, I find it anything but stress-relieving. I'm usually frustrated and pissed off, but I guess that works for me.
Joseph Cimino is a busy guy. He's the head of the New Jersey DEP and represents New Jersey on the NJ Marine Fisheries Council, the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Shellfisheries Council, the ASMFC Commission, and the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council. He's been in the fisheries game for a long time coming from the Hudson River, down to North Carolina, then Virginia, before coming to New Jersey. So he must know his stuff.
Jeff Kaelin is the Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs at LUND Fishery which is located down in Cape May. He's buddies with those at the Garden State Seafood Association which is made up of commercial operations, mostly based down in Southern New Jersey. A list of those members can be found on the GSSA website as seen below.
My point there is there might be a slight bias on Kaelin's part when it comes to the discussion of commercial and recreational fishing for striped bass. Now his buds aren't commercially fishing for striped bass in New Jersey but you know what I mean. Those commercials, and the head boat operators, and the charter operations that do fish for striped bass, dock their boats at the same marinas, and sit down and have a beer at the same bars. Does he represent the fly rod anglers?
So when I look into why things may go sideways with managing striped bass I have to just lay it down and kind of decipher if there are any trends. First, do the states vote along the same or party lines? Are there some states who have a more commercial interest vs a recreational one, or both, and how does that affect how they vote? Do the people we send to the commissions and boards truly represent the constituents or shareholders they claim to? We don't have a commercial fishery here in New Jersey.....but.....
As 2025 turns into 2026 heading into our 2029 rebuilding goal for the striped bass the can will get kicked further down the road and the alliances between the states and voting members of the board will strengthen. Like a phone call, ring ring, "How are you going to vote?"
All I know is I can't wait to fish and share a tide with Vin Gopal this spring. Hey he's from Monmouth County and surely knows those good early spring spots to wet a line.